


Love Prank

by TiBun



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, rinrei - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-14 05:10:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5730643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiBun/pseuds/TiBun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rei feels at a loss in his swimming, like he hit a wall now that Rin was no longer competing with him in the butterfly portion of the relay. The water no longer feels welcoming. Desperate for answers, and to feel free again, Rei goes to the track one night and tries to fly once more. Pole-vaulting is freeing, but still lonely, and he doesn't find the answer. He does, however, find Rin who was back for a visit, and together they find themselves playing a prank on their friends—or more possibly on their unknowing selves as they find what they had been missing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Co-written with my RP partner saya1984 ( http://saya1984.deviantart.com/ ) as Rin, myself as Rei. This was going to be a longer story, but things happened and we wrapped it up in a smaller package.
> 
> Rei's brother Shion was inspired by http://ryuugazakishion.tumblr.com  
> Permission was granted by the blog owner to use their OC's name.
> 
> Disclaimer: We do not own any recignizable characters. We only explore the possibilities.

Rei sighed as he pulled himself out of the water of the pool and walked over; taking the towel his best friend Nagisa was waving around at him. He patted his face dry and removed his swim cap and goggles before putting on his red glasses and wrapped the towel around his waist.

His time had improved again. He should have been happy about that. But the race he'd just won felt so meaningless. He found himself forcing a smile and accepting congratulations from his swim team members. He was the team captain, after all, and they were always excited when he won his races. He thanked them and turned his violet gaze back to the waters as the next set of swimmers lined up.

The pool had felt so empty, as if he had been swimming alone. It was a feeling he'd been getting at every swim meet that season. Practice had been nearly the same as the two years before. He did miss Makoto and Haru, but he and Nagisa were not alone. They had been successful in recruiting new members onto the team, and coaching them as team captain kept Rei distracted.

With Nagisa, Haru, and Makoto all swimming with him, he had all but forgotten that he wasn't a natural in the water. They had made the water warm and welcoming to a butterfly like him, and now that they were gone, the water was a cold, lonely place again. Swimming the relay wasn't the same. He still had Nagisa, but their team no longer had the same dynamic.

And beside him…

That red predator in the water urging him on, faster and faster in his stroke… That shark was gone.

That had been the most unexpected thing to Rei when he returned for his senior year of High School. He didn't think he'd miss his opponent, Rin. But he did. No one else could rival his butterfly stroke the way Rin could. They had swam together, though against each other, and now when he turned his head to catch a glimpse of that amazing shark, he saw nothing but open water.

Alone, flailing in the ocean desperately.

 

* * *

 

The meet came to an end and the Iwatobi swim club returned to their school where Rei held his usual meeting in the locker room, and then dismissed everyone. He gathered his things in his backpack and slung it over his shoulders.

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa ran over and gave the blue-haired boy an affectionate push, "Some of us were talking on the bus about going out to a karaoke bar tonight to celebrate! You should come!"

Rei smiled at the blond and shook his head, adjusting his glasses, "Maybe next time. I'm quite tired and I have a test to study for, for Monday. Have fun, though."

Rei started to walk away, but wasn't surprised when his affectionate classmate grabbed him around the waist to hold him back.

"When are you going to tell me what's been bothering you, Rei-chan?"

Rei sighed. Of course Nagisa had noticed. Nagisa always notices when something was bothering him. "This is something I have to figure out on my own, Nagisa." He said, looking down at the shorter teen, "Don't worry, I'll say something if I need your advice."

When Nagisa nodded and allowed him to go, Rei headed out alone, but rather than turn towards home, he walked to the track. It was late and no one was there, just as he had planned earlier that morning.

Track was his first home, and he had loved it. Now he wondered if he'd made a mistake leaving it for the pool. He had to find out.

He set down his bag on the bleachers and stripped out of his swim team jacket and sweat pants, under which he wore his old track uniform. His glasses, he replaced with his sports glasses so that they wouldn't get lost.

He then did his series of normal stretches and then jogged over to the supply shed, knowing that it was rarely locked. His assumption paid off and he selected a pole, taking it out to the pole vault.

Rei took a deep breath, holding the pole at the start, and closed his eyes, mentally going over his old vaulting theory in his mind, mentally watching his old self fly. And then, he took off, running down the lane and planting the end of the pole to fling himself up high in the air.

Time slowed down as the gentle wind caressed his body which arched up and over the bar. The sky welcoming him back and bringing a smile to his face.

But as he started his decent to the landing pad, Rei looked over and his smile fell. He was still alone. No one was there pushing him to fly higher the way Rin had pushed him to swim faster.

He landed unexpectedly, his mind having gotten too distracted.

Rin hadn't even been a team mate, yet the sharp-toothed teenager was constantly in his mind, even more so than Haru and Makoto who had also graduated and left to start their adult lives.

Rei sat up and stayed in the center of the pad. Haru… Haru was with Rin, Both going off in pursuit of a professional swimming career. They had each other to push for perfection, and Rei found a seed of jealousy within his heart.

He shook his head and hopped off the pad to retrieve his pole and try again. The water was a natural home for them…not for Rei. He had spent countless weeks learning to survive in the water; his natural habitat was the sky.

This time, he didn't go over the formula. He just gripped the pole and took off, his body taking him through the motions to fling himself up into the sky a second time that evening. He felt almost desperate to stay up there, to find what he was missing up there.

But again, he found himself on his back on the padded landing, panting and tearing up in frustration.

 

* * *

 

Rin had spent the past several months in Tokyo, where he was training in earnest for the Olympic team tryouts that would be held early the following year. He had plenty of time and was showing great promise, so he wasn't stressed about it. However, that didn't mean he'd allow himself to slack off. He saw Haru at training sometimes, though because they favored different styles of swimming, their official training didn't usually coincide. Rin saw even less of Makoto, who was always ears-deep in his textbooks. Who would have thought becoming a swim instructor for kids would take so much school work?

Rin's training was rigorous, and it didn't leave him a lot of free time and energy. What little he had, if he wasn't spending it with his old classmates, he spent studying. Now that his Olympic dream was within reach, he suddenly realized it wasn't the only one he had. After all, one couldn't be a professional athlete forever and Rin was entertaining a thought of becoming a police officer when his pro-swimming days were over.

His life was propelling him forward, he felt happy. He told himself he had everything he wanted, and what he didn't yet have, he was well on the way of getting, but there was something he lacked and he wasn't even aware of what it was.

As he sat studying at his immaculate desk one evening, his phone rang displaying his younger sister's name; Gou. He wasn't really in the mood to chat with her, but her calling him that late was unusual so he answered. A stream of unintelligible gushing and squealing emitted from the earpiece and he had to hold it at arm's length for a good minute before Gou calmed down enough to tell him the news in human tongue. After nearly a decade, their mother was getting re-married and it was happening soon and they wanted to know if Rin could return home for a week or two to help with the preparations and attend the ceremony. It was a lot to take in and Rin's hand reached for the butterfly-shaped cookie, so old, it'd practically turned to stone.

It was the only sentimental ornament he kept on his desk. He didn't even know why he kept it instead of eating it all those months ago. He'd eaten all but one, but hadn't the heart to toss it out. Rin missed the kid who had given that cookie to him. Rei, with his ridiculous love of all things beautiful. Rei, with his ridiculous accumulation of data on any given topic. Rei, with his fierce determination to master the water. Rei, who had given Rin a chance to enjoy swimming again and return to the world of friends and positive emotions.

"Are you even listening, Rin? It will be happening in three weeks! We need you here! Why aren't you responding?"

Rin awoke from his reverie with a start, putting the cookie to the side. He assured Gou he'd make arrangements with his coach and would be there in no time.

And now, a week later he arrived home only to find a note on the door that his mother and Gou had to go and pick up his grandmother and would be back the next morning. It was a lovely, warm evening and Rin didn't want to sit at home alone. He dropped off his bag and decided to go for a walk. He soon found himself near the Iwatobi high school. The classes were long over, but Rin wondered if Nagisa and Rei would be at the pool. Wouldn't that be an exciting reunion? He wondered how much Rei had improved since he'd last seen him.

He started walking toward the pool when he noticed someone practicing pole vaulting at the track. Only one person had such perfect form. Rin approached leisurely. Rei hadn't noticed him, and Rin watched as the blue-haired teen made another running start and shot himself into the air. Another perfect jump and a heavy landing. Rin clapped his hands as he came close enough to be heard without having to yell: "Beautiful as always, butterfly boy, but I think you look better in the water."

Rei snapped his gaze up, his eyes widening as he recognized that sharp, cocky smirk, ruby eyes, and purple-red hair.

"Rin-chan-san?" He asked cautiously, unsure as to if he'd landed on his head and his mind was making him think he was seeing the older boy that always seemed to be on his mind these days, or if he was actually there. "What are you doing here?"

He crawled to the edge of the landing pad and hopped to his feet before approaching the shark.

Rin stepped forward, stretching out his hand for a handshake.

"Just taking a walk. I'm more curious about what _you_ are doing here. You haven't left the swim club, have you?"

Rin was smiling, but there was a hint of concern in his voice. In front of Rei now, he realized he'd missed swimming against him and the thought of never doing it again made him sad. Even if Rei would swim with him, if he'd left the club he'd be out of practice and wouldn't be much of a challenge.

Rei shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck where a small trickle of sweat ran down from his hair line, "No, I haven't left the swim team. If I did I'd be a rotten team captain, a disappointment to the team, and I'm pretty sure Nagisa would haunt my dreams or something."

He walked over and picked up his pole, planting its end in the grass and leaning into it as he glanced up at the high bar. "I just needed time to myself…I think I'm looking for something…I thought maybe I'd find it up there."

Rin breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled as he imagined Nagisa, the dream haunter.

"Good to hear you're still swimming. I wouldn't want to lose a good rival."

Rin paused for a moment, considering Reis words.

"If you want to be alone, I won't keep you, but for me personally, a good swim usually helps put things in perspective. What do you say, you, me, like the good old times?"

"I didn't find it up there—whatever it is I'm looking for." Rei checked his watch and glanced up at Rin, "I can get us into the pool if you have a suit with you. But it's late and the water may be a bit nippy. Ours is outside, remember?"

"I do have a pair of swim trunks on me. A habit I picked up from hanging around Haru. You just never know when and where you'll wind up in water with that one." Rin looked a bit embarrassed about it, but he got over it quickly. "As for the cold water, I'm sure you won't mind it much if you can move fast enough."

With no warning, Rin broke into a jog toward the pool, calling out over his shoulder "Come on, Captain, show me what you've been up to."

"H-hold on! I have to put this away and get changed!" Rei called out, running to the storage shed and tossing the pole back on the rack. He then grabbed his bag and ran after Rin, digging through it for his swimsuit.

"I'm not Haru! I need to get into the locker room to change." He repeated as he caught up.

Rei ducked into the locker room and changed as quickly as he could before meeting Rin outside the gate to the pool. "I think you have spent too much time with Haruka-senpai since you two went off to train." He observed as he let them into the pool area.

Rin was waiting for him with his neatly folded clothes in hand. He was wearing short swim trunks, since the long ones were too uncomfortable to wear under his pants. As they walked in, Rin placed his clothes and shoes on one of the chairs and made a running dive into the water, making a few quick strokes in order to warm up. Maybe the water was a little nippy, but not cold by any measure. He swam to the edge of the pool nearest to Rei.

"Aren't you curious to see how you'll fair against an up-and-coming Olympic champion?" He laughed and splashed some water in Rei's direction.

"Hold those fins of yours." Rei said, removing his glasses and carefully setting them on his folded towel. He then walked over to the edge of the pool, "Wouldn't it be a proper comparison if we started this race properly?" he asked, pointing to the launching platforms, "Or are you just wanting to fool around like a guppy?"

Rin splashed at Rei again. "Who are you calling a guppy? Well, if you insist." He easily pulled himself out of the water and climbed atop the nearest platform. "Hm, should I give you a head start?"

Rei smirked, pressing his swim goggles into place, "Please, you can't have gotten that good in such a short time." He hopped onto the platform next to Rin and stretched his arms before bending down in the starting position. "We go all out. No handicaps. All or nothing, shark-boy."

Rin snapped the elastic of his goggles and assumed the starting position, as well. "Alright then. Three! Two! One!"

Rin shot off the platform, swimming the first several meters under the water before resurfacing and transitioning seamlessly into smooth and fierce butterfly stroke. He was faster than Rei, which was only to be expected. He also wasn't the type to hold back once the race has begun. Rin finished the lap with a 5-6 second lead and remained floating by the platform, catching his breath as he waited for Rei to catch up.

"Not bad. You're doing better than some of the guys training with me, and those are supposed to be Olympic grade. Tch." 

"The chill of the water shocked me!" Rei protested, pulling his goggles off. It was the truth. He hadn't submerged like Rin had before the race. But he knew that wasn't the only distraction he'd been hindered by.

He'd gotten over the shock and at the turn, he'd managed to catch up. However, as they started their way back to the finish, Rei had glanced over at Rin, Purple locking with red for only a millisecond, and in that moment, Rei had felt at home in the water again, and the next thing he knew, Rin had pulled ahead once more.

"Oh yeah? Would you like a rematch, now that you're all warmed up?" Rin climbed out of the water and stretched out his hand to Rei.

"It'd only be fair now that we are both warmed up and used to the water." Rei took Rin's hand and let him help pull him out of the pool so that they could reset for a rematch.

 

* * *

 

The sun had disappeared beyond the horizon, bathing the pool in darkness as the two swimmers floated on their backs, looking up at the stars. They had swam quite a few races, Rin winning each one, though Rei had preformed much better than the first race.

"I've missed this…" Rei muttered, "Racing you, I mean."

"Feels good, doesn't it? Are there no good opponents for you race now that I'm not around?"

Rin kicked at the water languidly, floating closer to Rei. "I've missed swimming with you too. I've got plenty competition where I am, but... you're different somehow." Rin paused, not sure why he just said what he did and what exactly he meant by it. Could _this_ be that illusive thing he has been lacking? He felt strangely at peace and didn't want to ruin the moment with awkward phrases. He decided to change the subject. "I bet you know all of these constellations."

"I have studied them." Rei nodded, "They are beautiful; gigantic burning spears that could swallow our own sun, so far from us they look no bigger than fireflies gathered in the sky…"

Rei was such a sucker for anything he found to be beautiful, and he knew that.

"Do you have a favorite one?" Rin asked, still gazing at the starts, trying to recall any of the constellations he'd learned in school, but not getting far past the big dipper. The air and the water were both growing chiller. They'd have to get out of the water soon, and Rin wasn't ready for the evening to end yet.

"She's not out tonight." Rei smiled, "Queen Cassiopeia only appears in the autumn and winter skies, there, in the North." He pointed to about where she would be, were it the right time of year, "She was a beautiful Greek queen who boasted of her and her daughter's beauty…it angered the gods and she was punished by being seated upon a throne in the sky as her daughter was sacrificed to a monster of the sea. At least, that is the western story for it. But that's the story I enjoyed the most."

Rei turned over in the water and used his arms and legs to push himself closer to Rin, "They say she's afraid of falling and clings to her throne."

Rin chuckled. "I didn't realize you liked scary stories like that."

He turned over in the water. Their arms touched inadvertently and Rin felt an unfamiliar, pleasant shiver run up his spine. He looked into Rei's eyes.  His wet skin glistened in the starlight. The effect was... beautiful. Rin shook his head, realizing he was beginning to think the way the other boy often spoke. Rei looked so pale and his lips looked bluish. Could it be the lighting, or was he as cold as Rin? Rin's caring nature won over his desire to make this unexpectedly intimate moment last.

"You look cold. I know I'm cold. What do you say we get out of here. If you're free, wanna come over to my place and have some hot tea? My family won't be back til tomorrow and I'd love some company." 

"The story isn't all that scary. Nothing like a ghost story." Rei shivered at the thought, though part of it could have been also the temperature of the water and the air around them. And the idea of curling up with a nice hot cup of tea sounded nice. It was the weekend, after all, and he could study at any time.

"Race you to the locker room!" He grinned, seizing the chance at finally winning a race and shoving Rin under the water before swimming to the edge of the pool, heaving himself out, and running for his towel and glasses before running to the locker room just outside the fenced in pool area.

Rin broke through the water surface, sputtering and laughing, and made a few quick strokes that brought him to the edge of the pool. He climbed out, "Hey, you couldn't bring _me_ a towel?" He grabbed his clothes and ran after Rei to the locker room. Once there, he went straight for the hot shower, calling out "That was cheating, you know." Though he didn't sound offended.

"Only if we go by official rules!" Rei laughed. "Sorry, I only have my one towel, and it's already damp from earlier." He paused, looking at it, "I could share it…only use one half so you can use the other."

He hung it up and turned on the hot water to rinse off and warm up, planning a full shower after he got home.

"Your school doesn't provide towels? I guess I've been spoiled by my fancy sports school. I'll take you up on that half a towel offer." Rin too was in the shower mainly for rinse-off and warm-up purposes. He waited for Rei to get out and be done with the towel, enjoying those extra minutes under the hot streams.

Once Rei had toweled dry, he held it out for Rin, "Here."

The blue haired boy then walked over to his bag and pulled out his dry clothes to change into. "So why are you back here, anyway? Gou-chan didn't mention you were coming back for a visit… Then again, she seems distracted lately."

Rin came out of the shower with a towel around his waist and proceeded to get dressed.

"My mom's getting married, so I'm here to help up with preparations and for the ceremony itself. So I'll be here for a couple of weeks."

He folded the wet towel and handed it to Rei. "Ready for some of that tea?"

Rei pulled on his shirt and then his jacket before shoving everything into his bag and placing his glasses back on his face, "Very." He nodded and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Congrats on gaining a step father." He added with a smile.

"It's a bit too late for me. I hope he treats my mom and Gou with respect and kindness they deserve. Would you believe that I've never actually met the guy?"

Once outside, Rin showed the way to his house, which was a 15-minute walk away. "By the way, did the swimming do the trick?"'

"What trick?" The younger boy asked, confused. Surely he wasn't asking about finding what he was looking for, right? He hoped not. He didn't know how to explain to Rin that it seemed he'd been looking for his missing shark. God, that would be embarrassing. Plus it solved nothing. Rin would be gone again soon, leaving Rei to search once more for something to fill that void.

Rin shrugged. "You seemed in a bit of a slump earlier, and it looks like you're feeling somewhat better, but I don't want to make assumptions."

After looking at Rei's face, he added "We don't have to talk about it though."

"It's not much to talk about, really." Rei shrugged, shifting his bag's weight on his shoulder.

"Are you worried about what you're going to do once you graduate, like Haru did?"

Rei shook his head, "No, I'm thinking of going into a science field. Possibly chemistry. This is something...I'm not actually sure what it is, to be honest."

Rin wasn't sure how to respond. He felt he didn't know Rei well enough to be effective in these sorts of deep conversations. He went with the easier option. "Do you have a university in mind? Wouldn't it be great if you joined us in Tokyo?"

"I've already started applying for schools, going to Tokyo depends on if I get accepted into a school there. But my future after graduation really isn't my problem…"

As they walked, the butterfly looked upwards, "This is going to sound really lame, but… It feels like I'm missing something when I swim. Not at practice or anything…just…at meets. The races feel so empty this year."

"Interesting. Could it be because I'm not around to keep your on your toes?" Rin joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Rei didn't respond, feeling as if that was exactly it, but he didn't want to admit it to the older boy.

But then again, not saying anything would probably come off as suspicious…

He gave a late shrug coupled with a smirk, "Maybe I should find a new rival worthy of my perfect stroke." He tried joking, though even as he did so his heart gave a painful tug.

Oblivious, Rin proceeded with mock seriousness. "Replacing me won't be easy, and having someone to compete against is an important matter. I hope you sort this out. Else you'll just have to wait 'til you're in college to compete with me again."

He patted Rei on the back. "If you're in Tokyo, you won't have to wait for the regional or National level to do so. I'm sure with your grades you'll have no trouble getting into any school you want. Of course, picking a school based on where your friends are isn't the wisest choice, but it'd be fun to have you around," he concluded, smiling.

"I'm not so sure I'll have the time to dedicate to swimming once I am in college." Rei admitted with a shrug, "Maybe casually, but I'll have so much studying to do."

The boy gave an awkward laugh and looked at Rin out the corner of his eye, "I bet you didn't want to hear that. You and the guys have always dwelled in the pool…life without one is probably foreign to you."

"You would just quit when you got to college..." Somehow that thought hadn't crossed Rin's mind. "Yeah, it's hard for me to imagine life without swimming, though I know I won't be able to remain a competitive swimmer forever... Don't you think you'll miss it? When I was in the water with you, I swear I felt something. Would you really give that up?" Rin's emotional nature was getting the better of him, letting his passion for swimming - swimming with his friends - show.

"I'll have my priorities, Rin. Studies before fun. I know I don't have what it takes to get into professional swimming like you."

He stopped walking and grabbed Rin's arm to hold his attention, "I love swimming with you and the others, but it can't last forever. We all realized that last year."

Rin froze momentarily, that shivering sensation running up his spine again. He looked into Rei's intense eyes.

"I know that. But just because things can't last _forever_ , it doesn't mean we should give up the time that we do have. You have a beautiful mind and determination enough to move mountains. I bet if you set it as your goal, you _could_ become a professional swimmer, too. Of course, you have your own dreams, and I won't try to make you live out mine. I'm just... sad I won't get to race you again, that's all." He shrugged apologetically.

"No…" Rei agreed with a sigh, "At least, not officially. We could still swim casually like we did tonight."

The boy with red glasses gave a small laugh, "In a way it kind of reminded me of when you were giving me private lessons! We'd always race butterfly to warm up before we got down to you teaching me the other strokes."

With tension seeping out of the moment, Rin was able to laugh too. "You were something else. I've never met anyone who was that bad at swimming. Yet look at you now." He shook his head. "We should definitely swim a few more times before I leave for Tokyo again."

Somehow, the thought of leaving made him sad. Haru and Makoto, along with a score of swimmers from his training center, were waiting there for him, but Rei wouldn't be there. Just for a moment, before he dismissed it as something unreasonable, that sadness crossed his face.

 _No need to think of this now_ , he decided.

"Oh look, we're almost here. My house is just up the street."

"Oh, yes, let's get inside and start on making that tea." Rei nodded, taking out his cell phone. "I should text my mom so she and dad don't start worrying about me." He muttered, scrolling through his contacts.

Rin opened the door and led his friend in, walking straight to the kitchen. "Do you have a preference? I have this chamomile mint tea that's good for late evenings and won't keep you up all night."

"That sounds fine." Rei responded, taking off his shoes by the door and setting them aside before also setting down his green backpack. He then followed Rin into the kitchen, "It sounds quite relaxing, actually."

Rin turned on the kettle and raided the cabinets for tea-related things. He found a box of ginger-thins, a jar of honey, a bowl of sugar cubes and some strawberry jam. He set these items on the living room table. For cups, he decided to use his mom's china tea set. It was normally saved for special occasions, but this case felt special enough to him. Besides, there were butterflies on it.

The walls were hung with family pictures. There was a baby Rin - one could tell by the teeth, then there was a slightly older Rin holding his infant sister. There were pictures of the two and their parents, and of Rin's father teaching his little shark to swim. Apparently Rin's mother took to archiving her family's lives in this way. There were pictures of Rin and Sousuke, and Rin with Haru and Co. There were a few from Australia and then came the Samezuka days. Without Rin's knowing, Gou had put up a picture of him in a maid's uniform.

"So you did have to be a maid…" Rei smirked as his gaze swept over the pictures on display, "You make a cute girl…but I think I prefer seeing you in that butler outfit."

"Wait, what?!" Rin panicked. Arms flailing, he ran to where Rei was standing, spotted the offending picture and dramatically threw it into the trash bin. He looked at the smirking butterfly with what he had hoped was a death-threatening glare. "If you tell _anyone_ , I'll have to kill you. You best forget what you _think_ you just saw." Rin may have looked a bit more intimidating if he wasn't blushing so much.

"Aw, don't be like that! You looked good!" Rei insisted, picking the frame up out of the trash and using a cloth to wipe it off, "Tell you what, to make up for it, I'll let you see what my older brother often did to me when I was a kid, if you ever stop by my place. Not even Nagisa knows."

He winked, inwardly questioning why he was strangely okay with the idea of Rin knowing that his brother used to tell him he was more like a sister and making him dress up as such when their parents weren't home.

It took all of Rin's self control to resist the impulse to grab the picture frame out of his friend's hands. The compliment only made him blush darker. At least Rei didn't use the word 'cute.' That would've been too much to bear... because of reasons.

He tried to play it cool, though he was still determined to get the photo out of Rei's hands and, possibly, out of existence.

"What did your brother do to you?" As he said that, he reached for the picture, trying to make it look casual.

"For now lets just say he wished he had a sister rather than a brother." Rei answered as he hung the picture back up in its place on the wall. "You're lucky. You were a maid for one weekend. I had to deal with my big brother and his friends until he left for college."

"Your _brother_? How old were you exactly when he left for college? I had to endure something similar from my mom before Gou came about and was old enough to be used for dressing up in cute girly clothes. Luckily I was too young to remember most of it, but my mom keeps pictures." He sighed, frowning. What he didn't say was that the memories he did have of those times were pleasant ones. Those days have passed, and he would never confess this to anyone.

"He's only five years older than me…" Rei admitted. "But still, I look up to him… He was in track, and that was what inspired me to go out for track before Nagisa and Haru convinced me to switch to the swim team."

"You mean to tell me there are pictures?" Rin walked over to his own maid photo and took it off the wall. "No way I'm letting all the wedding guests see this." He put it in a drawer nearby.

Rei flinched, "Boxes of them. Heck, I think he still has some of the dresses he made me wear hidden in his room at home… at least the most recent ones, I suspect…"

"You mean to tell me he spent all his allowance on buying you dresses? Did he make you wear make up, too?" Rin was genuinely intrigued. Just then the kettle began to whistle and Rin poured some hot water into a teapot.  "This will take a few minutes to brew."

"Just lip gloss and that eyelashes stuff… I forget what it's called." Rei shrugged, "But yeah, that’s what he spent some of his allowance on. When we were younger he just borrowed dresses from the girl next door."

"Could that have anything to do with your affinity for all things beautiful?" Rin said with a smile. This story made him feel connected to Rei, and the other boy didn't even know.

"It's…possible…" Rei blushed. In reality, he didn't know what caused him to be drawn so much to beauty, so when someone offered a possible explanation for it, he had to agree.

"I think it just adds a bit of uniqueness to your personality." Rin said, smiling again. He couldn't help but think how cute Rei looked blushing. To take his mind off it, he busied himself with tea preparations. "Do you take sugar or milk with your tea?"

"Milk and a little honey…though… I'm not sure that will go well with mint… Just milk this time, please." The boy thought out loud as his phone's text tone alerted him. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the message which confirmed his mother had gotten his message and was fine with him staying out since it was only a Friday night.

By the time he put his phone back in his pocket, Rin had finished making their teas and he took his, gratefully, "Thank you, Rin-chan-san." He smiled.

Rin made the opposite for himself, deciding honey went better with mint than milk.

"Enough with those chan-sans, you can just call me Rin," he said. "How's your tea?"

"Habit, sorry." Rei blushed all over again, deciding to try and hide it by taking a sip of the tea.

He closed his eyes and smiled, "It's good."

The boy glanced around, "Should we sit to enjoy this, someplace?"

Rin, who thought a dining table was a perfectly acceptable place for tea enjoyment, paused for a moment before suggesting to move to the couch in the living room. "Do you wanna watch a movie or something while we're there? Or play a game of GO?" Rin realized he'd never spent any quality time with Rei outside of pool and didn't really know what the booky beauty enthusiast enjoyed in his free time. Apart from wearing dresses. That thought gave Rin a giggle. "I can't stop imagining you in a dress now. Was your hair longer then?"

Rei's cheeks darkened again, "No, I always had short hair, but it is long enough for small pigtails or putting in hair clips."

Why was he answering such questions so casually as if it was the same as answering a math question in class when the teacher called on him? Perhaps he should take up the offer of a movie. That way there wouldn't be any more questions about such things…

"I think a movie would be enjoyable. I don't watch them very often…"

On an impulse Rin reached out to touch Rei's hair. "Pigtails and hair clips? Were they pink and sparkly?" He shook his head, thinking again how adorable Rei looked when flushed.

"About the movie, do you have a preference? There's this one film I've been wanting to see, called 'Invisible Wings.' One of my teammates from Tokyo lent me a copy, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. It's a Chinese film about a girl who'd lost her arms, but still became a swimming champion."

"That movie sounds interesting." Rei said, ducking and pushing Rin's hand away from his head, "And you are making me regret telling you about that!"

Rin didn't mind his hand being pushed away. He half expected it, since that's what he would do.

"Alright, it's in my bag upstairs. I'll be right back."

Rin set his cup on the coffee table and ran up to his room. He was back in a few minutes and busied himself turning on the TV and the blue-ray player.

Rei sat down on the couch which sat directly in front of the TV, "Is the movie subbed or dubbed? I can't say I know Chinese much…" he said as he got comfortable, tucking his legs in under him.

"It's subbed. I hope that's not a problem."

Rin dimmed the lights and settled on the same couch sitting a couple of feet away from Rei. He clicked the remote and the movie began.

"It's fine, as long as I can understand what's being said." Rei said, warming his hands on his tea as the movie began.

As they watched the film, the room got progressively chillier. The last warmth of the day was seeping out of the house.

"Would you like a blanket?" Rin asked. "I'm thinking of getting one."

"I would, thank you." Rei nodded, his tea long gone.

Rin ran upstairs again and returned with a blanket.

"I only found one. They're probably getting ready to have lots of people over and washing everything." He sat on the couch. "Do you mind if we share?"

"Not if you don't mind." Rei shook his head and slid over closer to Rin so that the blanket could cover his legs, never taking his eyes off the screen so that he didn't miss anything.

Sitting under the blanket Rin felt warm and comfortable. Although the movie was interesting, he found himself nodding off. At the training center he was used to a Spartan regime - up with the sun, asleep shortly after the sunset. This was well past his bed-time, but he didn't want to interrupt Rei, who seemed quite intent on the film. Rin tried to pay attention and keep his eyes open, but he eventually dozed off in spite of his best efforts.

Rei hardly noticed Rin's sleepy state, engrossed in the movie and eager to see how it ends. Unfortunately, his long, active day of school work, swimming, pole vaulting, and more swimming soon caught up to him in his relaxed state. It was so quick he didn't notice himself nodding off, asleep before his body leaned over against Rin, using his shoulder as a pillow, glasses askew upon his face.

* * *

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

The movie ended, but no one was awake to notice. At some point during the night, in an unconscious effort to get more comfortable the boys had shifted into a horizontal position. Rin, who sometimes slept hugging a pillow, had put his arms around Rei.

That was the image Rin's family saw when they returned home early the next morning.

Gou, unable to contain her boy-love-fangirl feelings immediately snapped a picture with her phone of the two cuddling boys and Rin's mother cleared her throat to wake them up.

Her mother and soon-to-be husband had gone to the kitchen, slightly uncomfortable with what they'd seen and not wanting to embarrass the boys with their presence upon waking.

Rei moaned, rolling over to face Rin and snuggling up closer to his warmth, his movement prompting another picture on Gou's phone before she bent over the two boys.

"How come you never told me you were involved with my big brother, Rei-chan?" she announced in an overly loud voice to help jar them from their dreams.

Rin instinctively held Rei closer. He opened his eyes at his sister's exclamation, blinking sleepily. The shark was momentarily disoriented, trying to remember where he was. He didn't even notice he was holding Rei for the first few moments.

"Morning, Rin~" His sister grinned, standing up with a giggle, "You know, your bed would have been much more comfortable for the two of you. Hey, Rei, do your parents know you're here?"

Rei shifted again, "Mmm?" he blinked open his eyes and reached up to fix his glasses on his face. It was only after that when he realized he was not in his bed at home, or that he was alone. He turned his head upwards, finding he was nose-to-nose with Rin.

The blue haired boy yelped and fell off the couch. "Ow!"

Rin too sprang back, but his back was against the couch, so he didn't move very far. "What the?! Gou? Mom?! Rei, are you okay? This isn't what it looks like! We were just watching a film! I can explain!"

"Watching a moooovie~? So romaaantic~" Gou made an effort to snap out of her fangirl la-la land to help Rei to his feet.

"It was not romantic," objected Rin. "It was a swimming movie!"

"That's like porn to you, isn't it, Rin-chan?" Gou whispered quietly, so that their mother wouldn't overhear them.

Rin was at a loss for words.

Rei's face was almost as red as his glasses, "I assure you, Gou-san-chan, nothing happened. Rin only invited me over for tea after we happened to bump into each other. We must have simply drifted off, and—Oh!" Remembering his parents, he scrambled to get his phone out of his pocket to check his messages.

Nothing. His mom probably assumed he spent the night like he sometimes did with Nagisa. He let out a sigh. At least she wasn't worrying.

"Wait, did you 'bump into each other' before or after tea." Gou made air quotes with her fingers as she spoke. She was having entirely too much fun. Rin got his bearing and rose to his feet.

"Stop it already, you're making him uncomfortable," he scolded his sister gently. As the initial shock wore off, he thought the situation was rather funny.

"Ah, you're no fun." Gou walked away to give the boys a bit of privacy and... to post their pictures on every social network known to mankind.

Rei rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Rin and Gou's mother, giving her a respectful bow, "I'm sorry for this, ma'am, I'll head home and get out of your way—congratulations on your engagement."

He then turned to Rin, his cheeks heating up again, "Uh…too bad we didn't get to finish the film…" he trailed off, not trusting himself to say more when all he could think about while looking at the redhead was 'You smell good'. How embarrassing would that be?

Rin attempted to smooth his hair, which stuck up in a cowlick on one side. He hastily greeted his family excusing himself for a few minutes to say goodbye to Rei.

"I'll be here for two more weeks. We could get together again. I could even lend it to you, if that doesn't happen for some reason. Come, I'll walk you to the door."

As they were at the doorstep, Rei's phone chimed, announcing a text message from Nagisa as he found out when he glanced down at the screen.

 

_~Rei-chan! I knew that no 1 could be so fascinated with all things beautiful and b straight at the same time. I want you to know that I love you anyway. Rin?! You and Rin?! Oh, long-distance love, how cruel destiny can be! Will you be joining him in Tokyo after high school is over?~_

 

Nagisa had obviously seen the pictures Gou posted, though neither Rin nor Rei even knew of such evidence's existence.

"What?!" Rei gasped loudly, gripping his phone tighter, "How-? Why-? I'm not-!" he loudly protested at his phone as if Nagisa would be able to hear him.

"What is it?" Rin wanted to look at the message that got Rei so distraught, when his own phone played a few notes of _Jaws_ theme. He looked at the screen and turned pale. Nagisa had send him a very similar note.

"What on earth... how?" He realized what happened quickly enough though.

"Gou, you brat, come here this instant!"

"She's in the shower," his mother called out. "What is it, honey?"

"Ugh. It's nothing!"

He looked at Rei. "I'm so sorry about this. I'll make her pay. I'm pretty sure Gou was the one who told Nagisa."

Rei groaned, "He's never going to let me live this down—I bet the whole swim team knows by now…if not the whole school…" he muttered, forcefully pushing buttons on his phone to reply back that nothing had happened.

"Sorry this happened, Rin. I hadn't realized how tired I was…"

"I was there with ya, wasn't I?" Rin shook his head. He put his hand on Rei's shoulder, trying to get his full attention.

"Hey, don't let it bother you, 'kay? Hmmm... actually, we could fight fire with fire. Wanna prank them and pretend we really _are_ a couple? I'll bet you anything no one will dare make fun of you if they know they'll have to deal with me." Rin was getting excited about the idea, gesticulating widely, then he paused. "That wouldn't work, of course, if you have some pretty girl in mind. I wouldn't want to ruin your chances."

"That's the thing! They should both know better!" Rei sighed and leaned against the door, "Back when you were giving me private lessons on swimming other strokes, everyone thought I had a girlfriend because I was being so secretive about it. When I was confronted about it I laughed it off and reassured them that I had no interest in such nonsense! Gou's just about the only girl I spend time with, and that's because she helps with the team, and—wait, did you just propose we go along with this?"

Rei's purple eyes were wide behind his glasses.

"I did." Rin scratched his head, grinning mischievously. "I think it would be hilarious. Oh, I know! You could be my date to my mom's wedding. My whole family would flip."

Rei's face flushed red again, "Do you really think that'd be a good idea? I mean; your family…" His heart had sped up, thumping excitedly in his chest. But this would be fake… Why did the idea both excite and pain him?

"My family is an accepting lot. Having you around would also save me from all the well-meaning 'Oh Rin, have you met a special girl yet? My colleagues' daughter is about your age.' I'm with you on that one - like I have interest in such things. The main objective, of course, would be to observe Nagisa and Gou. Serves them right for making such outlandish assumptions." Rin found himself hoping with his whole heart that Rei would say yes, not because Rin really wanted to fool everyone, which would be fun, of course, but more importantly, it meant he'd get to spend more time with his butterfly.

Rei hesitated and glanced down at his unsent text to Nagisa, then back up at Rin. The older boy looked so excited for the 'game' he'd proposed, and mixing that with his sleep-mussed hair…

He sighed and erased the text he'd typed out, "We'll need to agree on a set of rules."

Rin looked over his shoulder, excited. "Oh yes, you should tell him he should keep it a secret for now... Honey." He laughed.

"Rin!" Embarrassed by the sudden pet name, Rei covered his face with his hands. "That's not what I meant by rules! I mean rules on how far we take this!"

"Oh," Rin stepped back. "Well, we can just limit it to Nagisa and my family. No one else needs to be a part of it. As for the PDA, obviously it shouldn't be anything you're uncomfortable with. Holding hands and kisses on the cheek okay?"

Rei peeked back up at Rin. Even on the cheek, kisses seemed too much for pretending…but then again, if they were going to do this, then they had to sell it…

"I…don't know anything about dating," he admitted, choosing not to say anything about the kissing, "I'll have to pick up some books about it on the way home…"

Rin shook his head, smiling. "You would, wouldn't you? Give me a few pointers when you read those. I don't have much experience either."

He glanced back over his shoulder, "I need to take a shower and hang out with my family for a bit. Wanna go hang out downtown in the evening? That's a dating thing to do, isn't it? We could invite Nagisa and Gou too."

The blueheaded boy gave a small nod, "I'll text you my findings and we can hash out the details of the…date." He stood in the doorway awkwardly, not knowing what to do before he settled for waving his hand as he opened the door, "I'll see you later, Rin."

"Thank you. It will be fun, I promise. See you later, _honey_."

* * *

As promised, Rei stopped by his favorite book store on his way home, choosing a few books that seemed a good resource for the subject of dating. He also included a highly acclaimed romance novel as girls all seemed to love such things. It might just have a few good ideas in it that he and Rin could use. One was also about gay men, which he kept hidden on the bottom of the stack, hoping that the lady at the check out wouldn't notice. He felt very self conscious as he paid for the books and hurried out with his new perches in his backpack.

When he got home, he greeted his parents and apologized for staying out all night before getting a proper shower and changing into a fresh t-shirt and jeans. He then locked himself in his room to study up on the science of dating, making sure to take proper notes to send to Rin so that they both would know what to do and not do. He even went as far as to use a mirror to practice proper facial expressions.

Hours later, he took a break to get some lunch and study for his test come Monday before contacting Nagisa to start the progress of making plans that night.

 

_~I think we should talk. Can you meet me later?~_

 

Nagisa's reply came quicker than Rei expected.

 

_~About time, rei! What were u and rin-chan doing all this time? ;)~_

 

Rei blinked, his cheeks flushing a dark red before he keyed in his response.

 

_~"We" have been doing nothing. I have been at home studying.~  
_ _~Please stop teasing.~_

 

While waiting for his best friend's response, Rei leaned back against his pillows, gazing at his ceiling. "Why did I let Rin talk me into this?"

Before he could answer his own question, his phone chimed a couple of times.

 

_~Fine, fine!~  
_ _~U mentioned wanting 2 hang out 2 talk?~  
_ _~Will the bf-chan b there?~  
_ _~Sorry! I promise I'm trying not 2 tease.~_

 

Rei sighed.

 

_~Yes, Rin will be there. Gou as well if he can get her to come. We want to straighten out a few things.~  
_ _~Don't go telling anyone, please.~_

 

Rei paused, not liking how Nagisa wasn't answering him quick enough for comfort.

 

_~Nagisa?~  
_ _~You haven't said anything about it, right?~  
_ _~?~  
_ _~Nagisa?~_

 

Finally a reply came.

 

_~Keep ur pants on, rei-chan!~  
_ _~But it's kinda 2 late.~  
_ _~Gou-chan posted those pics everywhere.~_

 

Rei gasped and sat up straight.

 

_~What pics?~  
_ _~She posted pics?~  
_ _~What are they of?~  
_ _~Where are they?~_

 

Nagisa's reply was a simple link and Rei opened it, soon jumping to his feet when he found the pictures Gou had taken that morning before they had woken up. And what was worse, was the fact that the comments under them proved that there was no easy way out. Everyone he and Rin knew were flooding the comments section with wisecracks, exclamations of shock or dismay, encouragements, support, and congratulations.

"Oh my god…"

Rei's phone chimed again with another message from Nagisa.

 

_~R u ok, rei?~_

 

The boy sighed and forced himself to take a few calming breaths before he could reply.

 

_~Yes.~  
_ _~I just need to let Rin know. I'll text you later with when and where we will meet.~_

 

Nagisa replied back with a emote of a winky face sticking its tongue out, which Rei ignored and he switched over to Rin's contact, sending him his dating notes, asking him for an updated picture to keep in his phone, sending one of himself for Rin's use where he's making a heart shape with his hands, and finally, forwarding the link Nagisa had sent him with the message that their game just got a whole lot bigger if they chose to go through with it.

With all that sent, Rei decided to distract himself with more studying.

* * *

Though Rin was still a bit shaken by the morning's events and cross with Gou for starting the gossip, he was excited for the prank and was in a generally good mood. He scolded Gou for telling Nagisa about him and Rei. Rin must've looked scary, because Gou couldn't find the courage to tell him that Nagisa was by far not the only one who knew.

At breakfast, Rin did his best to keep a straight face when asked about Rei. In general, he tried to deflect the questions with "I don't want to steal your thunder. This is about you. You're getting married! Let's focus on that."

He went for a swim at the Samezuka gym, where he ran into Ai and Momo. The boys acted a little strangely, but they didn't say anything specific, and Rin assumed they were just being their awkward selves. He got Rei's texts as he was walking home. He laughed out loud at the finger-heart picture and nearly fell over upon seeing what Gou had done. This was getting out of hand. He wasn't sure how his sponsors would feel if they found out he was gay. He didn't want to abandon the game entirely, but steps had to be taken. He decided to start by getting Gou to take the pictures down. He quickly texted Rei that he'll make sure the photos are off the web... and that he'll send him a picture when he gets home.

Gou didn't want to take the photos down at first. They were some of the most "liked," "shared," and commented upon posts she's ever made. When threats failed, he told her he'd let her help with taking a romantic picture for Rei and that he'd even let her join them on their date tonight. He also told her of the difficulties it may cause to his career and how such indiscretion could cause tragedy for the young couple. Gou was sold. Soon, Rei received a photo of Rin with a rose in his hand, hair blowing in the wind.

 

_~I'll see you at 6?~_

 

Rei's reply confirmed the plans.

* * *

"Rei!" Nagisa ran forward, flinging himself onto the taller boy's back, "Where's Rin? I thought you'd come with him!"

"I was studying all day and he had his own things to do with his family. He'll be here with Gou soon." Rei sighed, fixing his glasses on his face.

"Aw, but you must miss him! Studies can wait for romance!"

Just then Rin and Gou walked around the corner. Gou was hanging on Rin's arm, looking as excited as a girl can be. Rin was a little nervous. He brought the rose from the photograph to give to Rei.

"Rei-chan?" He extended the flower to his 'boyfriend'. Gou squealed in delight.

Rei flushed as he accepted the gift, "You can just call me 'Rei', Rin…they both already know, after all…" Feeling a nervous flutter in his stomach, he took Rin's hand in his and looked between Gou and Nagisa, "Please don't make such a big deal about this, we have been keeping things quiet for a reason."

"Yeah, yeah, figured when the pictures were suddenly taken down and how this blindsided literally everyone." Nagisa huffed, "My question is how long has this been going on between you two?"

Rin mentally smacked himself in the face for not coming up with and agreeing on a back-story with Rei. There was no other way but to wing it. Like a butterfly. Rin smiled, squeezing Rei's hand for encouragement.

"Remember when I was giving Rei swimming lessons?"

"Wha? That long? Rei-chan, you lied to us!" Nagisa accused, pointing his finger at Rei.

"I did not! You all thought I had a girlfriend, and I said that was laughable! You never asked about a boyfriend!" Rei quickly defended himself, hoping he didn't sound awkward. Keeping secrets wasn't his best talent by far. After all, when he'd been getting swimming lessons, his friends all quickly caught on that something was off and started with crazy theories like girlfriends or quitting the team to go back to track.

"We didn't start dating right then and there," Rin piped in. "But I'd say that's where it started. Rei's determination made a huge impression on me."

"Awe!" Gou hugged the young 'lovers' from behind. "You two are too cute! What about you, Rei? When did you know you were in love with my brother?"

"I—I don't know." The glasses wearing boy panicked slightly, but he tried to think of a reasonable way to fix what he'd just said. Surprisingly, it came all too easy when he looked at Rin for help, but not really needing it.

"He was always so—beautiful in the water. I mean, Haruka-senpai was as well, but Rin's technique was perfect… I always found myself watching him swim. I told myself I was nitpicking, looking for flaws like the time he swam in my stead and his entry into the water was off slightly, but… And then when he was teaching me other strokes, we got to know each other more personally…and…I guess it just grew. By the time Rin asked me out, I couldn't say no…"

It was Rin's turn to blush, being called beautiful and all.

"It was on that day with the petals in the pool. Took me long enough to work up the courage." The older boy figured the others would be suspicious of how they could've missed the romance for months on end, so he placed the official start at the end of their actual time together.

"I figured if I kicked it off with something so beautiful, he'd have to say yes, and he did." Rin grinned, affectionately butting Rei with his shoulder. "Of course that meant that we've had hardly any face to face time as a couple."

"And that's why you didn't come out with us last night, Rei? You could have said you had a date!" the blond accused.

"Actually, I didn't expect Rin to show up last night. He surprised me." Rei admitted, feeling better being able to answer something with complete truth.

"I hope it was a nice surprise. We haven't seen each other in ages."

There was a traveling carnival in town and the foursome wandered in its direction. Nagisa saw the bright lights first and got overly excited with the prospect of candied apples and other such things. As they stood in line for the sweets Rin noticed a haunted house ride. One of those with little carts that take you through dark spooky tunnels.

"We should go there!" he exclaimed. "Should be fun!"

"Uh…I'm not really…good with anything haunted, Rin…" Rei said nervously, fiddling with the rose Rin had given to him. But his admission was lost as Nagisa spoke up.

"You guys want anything? It's our turn to order!"

Gou got herself a caramel apple, Nagisa went wild buying half a dozen various treats. Rin, who wasn't into sweets, tried to wave him off, but the blond boy bought him and Rei rainbow colored butterfly lollipops. Rin shook his head, but accepted the treat.

"Haunted house now? I hope they'll let us in even with food."

"Ooo, you two love birds just want to be in the dark together somewhere, don't you?" ventured Nagisa.

"Am I that obvious?" Asked Rin, blushing suddenly. What Nagisa said was true. This, of course was just a part of the game, but... he found he really did want to be alone with Rei in the dark.

"Well, you two have fun!" Nagisa said, pushing the two towards the ride. "Best go now while the line's so short!"

"What? But—" Rei's protests were again cut off by Nagisa's pushing, and before he knew it, he wasn't just in line with Rin, but being ushered into the cart by the ride's operator.

As the cart started moving, Rei groaned. Did it have to be the haunted ride?

"Do you enjoy things like this, Rin?" Rei asked as the doors opened and they rode through them into the darkness.

"Of course, as long as they are any good. I love getting my adrenalin pumping. Don't you?"

"Not when it's like— _ahh!_ " The first scare of the ride was triggered, and Rei nearly jumped out of his seat before instinctively grabbing Rin's arm.

"Oh..." Rin wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad outcome. In any case, he wanted to comfort his friend.

"Um... here, let me," the older boy de-tangled his arm from Rei's grip and slung it around the boy's shoulders instead. "So you feel safer." Rin's own heart was racing, and the ride's scares had nothing to do with it.

As the ride continued on, the two boys grew closer and closer with each scare until Rei was practically in Rin's lap.

"Sorry," the younger muttered into Rin's neck, "I'm a coward when it comes to this stuff…"

Rin couldn't believe how good it felt to have Rei so close to him. He held him tighter, warm, tingly feeling spreading throughout his chest as he felt Rei's breath on his neck. Trying to be inconspicuous, he smelled the younger boy's hair.

"My bad for dragging you here. Tell you what, you get to choose the next activity."

"That's a promise." Rei muttered, his breath grazing Rin's neck, soft as a butterfly's touch.

As much as Rin wished this moment wouldn't come, the ride was soon over.

"Rei," he whispered, "It's over. You can open your eyes now." The older boy gave his companion's shoulders one last squeeze and released him, easily hopping out of the cart and reaching his hand to help Rei get out too.

"So, what do you wanna do next?"

"I knew it!" Nagisa giggled a few feet away at the exit for the ride, "I just knew Rei-chan would get too scared to make out during the ride!"

Rei flushed and tried to calm and compose himself as he and Rin walked hand-in-hand over to the other two. "You are a cruel best friend, Nagisa."

"That's your problem!" the blond grinned, "I just want you to make the most of Rin-chan's visit!"

"Why is our relationship so important to you two?" Rei asked.

"Easy! Because you both look so happy together!" Gou and Nagisa said together, making both boys blush.

"You think so?" Rin grinned, but his sharp smile soon turned threatening. "Well don't ruin it by prying." He glared at them for a few moments before breaking into a laugh. "The looks on your faces! Seriously though."

"Rin-chan is so scaaary!" Nagisa whined. "Rei-chan, do something with your man!"

Gou just shook her head. "What am I going to do with you, big brother?"

"Trying to control or change your significant other will only lead to an unhealthy relationship." Rei recited, adjusting his glasses though they were sitting perfectly fine on his face. "A healthy relationship is built on trust and understanding."

"Heard that?" Rin found himself feeling proud of his 'boyfriend,' who was not only smart, but also wise at times.

"Alright Rei, any suggestions on what we should do next? It's on me. I did promise you to make up for the haunted house fiasco."

"How about we try a game?" Rei suggested, pointing towards where the game booths were set up.

"You do remember who was the last person standing last time we played a game? To think of it, now might be our chance to get back at Nagisa." Rin led the way toward the booths. "Which one's got your name on it?" He asked, turning to Rei.

Rei glanced at each booth as they passed them until a game caught his attention. "That one." He gestured towards a ring toss game that he usually had good luck on, though it had been some time since he last tried it. But that wasn't the only reason he chose that game. On display for the prizes, mostly hidden behind bears and rabbits, Rei saw what he thought could be a stuffed shark toy. He didn't know if Rin liked stuffed toys, but they had a part to play, and winning a toy for your girlfriend was one thing he had read about a lot. Rin wasn't a girl, but Rei assumed it'd still apply to boyfriends.

True to his word, Rin paid the booth attendant enough for all four of them to take part.

During his turn, Nagisa only hit the mark with one of the three rings, which wasn't enough to win anything. Gou surprised them all (and herself, though she wouldn't admit it) by hitting all three. She selected a colorful beach ball among the prizes, since the summer was fast approaching.

Holding his rings, Rei walked back and forth, calculating the best angle of attack. He'd received his rings first, but in wanting to take his time to execute the game perfectly, he fell behind the others in playing.

Finally ready, he took a deep breath and tossed the first.

Success.

The second took flight from his nimble fingers as soon as the first hooked its mark.

Again, a success.

And the third, like the second was sent flying—only to be intercepted by the vender who didn't see him throwing as he was stepping backwards. But the man felt it.

"Oh, so sorry. Here, try once more on this one." The man smiled, handing it back.

Rei sighed, his groove thrown off. With less confidence, he let it fly a second time and his breath caught as it bounced up—he'd screwed it up, he just knew it—and then it fell back down, spinning around his target successfully.

"We have another winner! What do you want, kid?" The vender smiled, gesturing at the top row of prizes.

Rei leaned in, keeping his voice low, "Um, it'll be a gift for my b—girlfriend, so can you get me that shark back there secretly?"

"Sure thing, kid." He nodded and got up on his step stool to reach the prize. The man, understandably, must have thought Gou was the girlfriend, so he waited until she was distracted before slipping it to Rei with a wink. Rin happened to be on the other side of the booth with his rings, so Rei was sure he didn't notice the baby blue shark with a pink heart on its tail being handed to him.

In the meantime, Rin, using his superior coordination as a professional athlete, also nailed all three throws. He too had noticed the cute sharks in the prize pool and thought it would be 'romantic' to give one to Rei. Using the opportunity of his 'boyfriend' being distracted at the other booth, he quietly procured a shark of his own from the second booth attendant.

"You lot, are going to leave us broke. I'm afraid I can't let you play anymore. Except that blond one," the carnie said handing his prize over. Rin immediately hid it under his jacket and motioned excitedly for the rest of his group to follow him to a quieter area off the main road.

"Rei~chan, I've got something for you!" He revealed the stuffed shark with a flourish. "He can keep you company while I'm away." Rin smiled brightly, quite pleased with himself.

Rei blinked, his cheeks red at the sight of the pink shark with a blue heart. "Wh-what? But I got you one!" he said, pulling out the shark prize he'd won.

"These two are going to kill me with a sugar overdose." Nagisa laughed.

"Your sugar addiction is going to kill you with sugar overdose," Rin said automatically, not taking his eyes off Rei and the plush toy he was holding. He stepped closer to proceed with the ceremonial shark exchange. "Great minds think alike, eh?" Telling himself he did it purely for the prank's sake, Rin hugged Rei tightly. "Thank you, baby. You know me too well."

The moment was highlighted by a flash from Gou's camera-phone. "Don't worry, I won't be posting it! This is just for archives. Don't let me interrupt you!" she chattered excitedly.

Rei took his gift and hid his face into Rin's neck, "Pet names still feel odd…" he muttered.

"Rei-chan's so shy." Nagisa grinned, "Hey! You know what you should do? On those tail hearts you should write your names!"

Gou quickly agreed, "Yeah! And Rin, you won't have to worry about anyone seeing it because Rei has a girly name!"

"That's... actually a good idea. What do you think?" Rin asked, releasing Rei. "We'd have to make sure someone with beautiful handwriting did it."

"Let's see," Nagisa said, thoughtful, "We got snacks, we did a haunted house, we played a game, how about a ride on the ferris wheel? It will be sooooo romantic~." He playfully elbowed Rin.

"Yes, yes, we definitely should!" Gou almost jumped with excitement.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Rin asked Rei, teasing. "I mean you did pole vaulting and all, but you never know."

"Heights don't have ghosts ready to pop out at you." Rei flushed, attempting to cover up his embarrassment with a matter-of-fact tone. "I'll be perfectly fine."

They walked to the wheel arm in arm. Once there, Nagisa ushered the two of them into a carriage of their own.

"Make sure you kiss when you're at the top, its good luck!"

The carriages were rather small, with two benches, offering sitting space for only four. They didn't have a roof, but instead a rail ran a foot above the waist-high walls to prevent easy falling. There was also a sign discouraging standing up. Rei and Rin were forced to sit on the same bench to keep up the appearances. As their carriage gained altitude, swaying gently, they could see the whole town. Not that the wheel was that tall, it's just most of the buildings weren't higher than two stories. City lights looked beautiful in the deepening twilight. In the opposite direction the milky ocean stretched endlessly. The sounds below seemed quieter from up high.

"Don't forget to kiss!" Nagisa yelled from the carriage just below. "You're almost there!"

"Your shouting would ruin the moment!" Rei shouted back before sighing and looking at Rin.

"Are you enjoying this?" he asked, keeping his voice low. He knew no one could hear them, but he didn't want to take any chances.

"I do," Rin answered simply and shrugged. It was all beginning to make sense to him. He's spent his life single-mindedly pursuing his professional swimming dream. He never had time for romance, not even in his thoughts. Surrounded by like-minded friends as he was, it never occurred to him that he was missing out. Until now. This 'date' felt easy and natural. All he had to do was suspend the reality a bit and realize that this is what he was lacking. Did it have to be Rei? He wasn't sure. But he _wanted_ it to be Rei. He wondered if the other boy felt the same. There was something in the way Rei looked at him sometimes that made Rin think perhaps he wasn't alone in this.

"How about you?" Rin asked seriously, trying to gauge Rei's answer objectively, body language and all.

Rei shrugged and looked out over the city, contemplating the answer. Truly his feelings were mixed. He hated being deceitful to his friends and Rin's family. It was so dishonest, and he didn't even know how to deal with coming clean with the truth to everyone later. But spending time with Rin like this, their companions' pushiness aside, was strangely enjoyable in a way that made the butterfly feel incredibly awkward in both good ways and bad.

"Rin-chan-san…" he looked back at the shark, catching a glimpse of his refection in ruby eyes, "Are you really into guys like this?"

 _That_ Rin did not expect. His mouth fell open and his face turned a deep red to match his hair.

"I ... um... when you put it like that..." He suddenly found his shoes very interesting, but he forced himself to look up and meet Rei's gaze. "I guess." He shrugged again and bit his lip anxiously, fighting his urge to look away, to hide somewhere, or else, to kiss Rei and come what may.

"I—I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Rei put both hands up, fingers spread, "I just…I'm sorry, that was rude of me." He sighed and looked down, his ears tinted pink as he let his arms drop and rest on his knees, hands dangling.

"I was just curious."

Rin looked away too. Their ride was almost over, maybe a minute or two left before they would return back to Earth.

"It wasn't rude. We're friends, right? Friends can talk about such things." He suddenly felt tired. Did he misread all the signs?

"... I hope it doesn't weird you out..."

"Sorry, I just can't help but let my mind wander about this situation." The younger boy sighed, "I'm confused as to why you wanted to play this prank. And if you like guys like that…then…was it so you could see what it was like, or…"

_'Or was it because you wanted to pretend to be with me? Am I special to you, Rin-chan?'_

Of course he couldn't bring himself to say what was really on his mind.

"I..." Rin scratched his head again. "I didn't know when we started. I like spending time with you and _this_ seemed like a good excuse to hang out. Then you were there, in my arms on that haunted ride and I... just..."

"Come on out!" It was the ride attendant, rushing them out so the next group of visitors could jump in before the carriage drifted away again. Being closer to the door, Rin climbed out first and was about to give a hand to Rei but hesitated. He didn't want to make the situation any more awkward than it already was.

Rei grabbed the two shark prizes they had given each other which had been sitting on the bench across from them before scrambling to follow Rin off the ride. He was disappointed that their conversation had been cut short, and he knew that in only seconds, Nagisa and Gou would join them. They likely wouldn't get much more alone time where they could talk, so Rei made a mental note to call Rin later on the phone.

Rin took his shark from Rei, not meeting the butterfly's eyes.

"We should talk," he said quietly, just as Gou and Nagisa hopped off the wheel and joined them.

"Did you kiss? Did you kiss? I couldn't see!" Nagisa exclaimed, hugging the two of them. "Were you too shy?"

"Cool it, Nagisa. It really is none of your concern," Rin cut him off.

"I know where we can go next," offered Gou. "How about the mirror maze?"

"Yeah! We can make it a race to get through!" Nagisa grinned.

"Sounds fun." Rei smiled. When the other two turned to lead the way, he leaned over to Rin, "I'll call you tonight." He promised, "I doubt we'll get much alone time here."

"You... do you want alone time with me? We _could_ blow them off for the rest of the night. They'll understand."

"It'd be rude." Rei shook his head, "We invited them out here, after all."

Rin huffed. He was a bit apprehensive about the upcoming conversation, but he'd rather get it over with than drag it out. No use sulking though. He clapped Rei on the shoulder.

"I bet I can beat you to the mirror maze." He took off running in the direction Gou and Nagisa went.

"Just because you beat me in the water last night doesn't mean you can beat me here!" Rei shouted, running after Rin.

They ran and Rei beat Rin in the end. Nagisa handed them their tickets and the four of them entered. The maze was full of black-lights and smoke which helped in the group quickly getting separated. After a few minutes Rin made it to the final room, which was well lit and lined with those funky mirrors that distort reflections. He started moving slowly from one mirror to another, chuckling and posing.

"Those pants make your legs look fat, Rin-chan!" Nagisa giggled, coming up behind Rin, "Where's Rei? I would have thought you two would have stuck close."

"I lost him," Rin replied wondering if he'd lost Rei in more than one way.

"I wonder if he'd like this room. Can't exactly call these reflections beautiful. Hm, think I should go back and try to find him?"

"If you think he got lost." The blond shrugged, "You'll lose the race out if you do. I can promise you that!"

"I think I can handle loosing a race once in a while," Rin winked at Nagisa and headed back into the maze, almost colliding with Gou.

"Oh Rin, I wanted to see you in some of these mirrors. We should take pictures!"

"I gotta find Rei, have you seen him?"

"Only in the beginning. You're gonna go rescue him? So romantic!"

Rin shook his head and disappeared into the hazy darkness of the mirror maze.

"Oi Rei, are you there?" With the fog and the occasional strobe lights, some of his own reflections, especially the ones further away, looked like ghosts. "Oh crap," Rin muttered to himself. "I hope he isn't hiding in some corner, scared. Rei? Reeei!" Rin tried to walk briskly, though he occasionally hit the glass walls at that pace. He kept calling out Rei's name. Probably because it was getting late, the maze was unusually empty, which only made it appear more eery.

It took a few tries calling out to him, but finally Rin heard Rei respond; "Rin..?"

The blue haired boy tried to follow his ears to Rin, though being in a maze, it wasn't the best way to find someone. But finally he spotted the shark and ran over to him, smacking into a glass panel which separated them. He pressed both hands against the panel, looking wide-eyed at his pretend boyfriend.

On impulse, though inwardly laughing at the cheesiness of it, Rin pressed his hands against Rei's.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, I'm here." He had to shout to be heard through the glass.

"Stay where you are. I'll come to get you. Just don't move, okay?"

Rei shook his head, unable to resist a sudden impulse. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…" he said, pretending he was dying, sinking to the ground, hand still pressed against the glass in the Vulcan salute, then he let his body go limp.

"Rei?! REEEEEIII, NOOO!" Rin pounded on the glass in mock despair. "You have to hang on! I will find you!"

With that, chuckling all the way, the shark was off. With one hand against the wall at all times, he all but sprinted down the path to the right. It soon became apparent that it wouldn't lead to Rei, so Rin had to double-back. It took him a few minutes, but soon enough he made it to where he'd left Rei.

"You incurable dork you!" He called when he was just a few paces away.

Rei laughed, pushing himself back up, "Come on, my recreation of Spock's death scene was perfect! I had to do it! When else would it have been given such an opportunity?!"

He stepped forward, "But I am getting lost in here. I keep finding the back wall and never a door…"

Rin decided not to mention that he didn't even know who Spock was. Perhaps this was something Rei could tell him all about at a later time.

"You are quite an actor." He smiled, remembering the previous time Rei 'died' in his arms.

He stepped closer his lost little butterfly, suddenly very aware that they were all alone. He grew serious as his compulsive (and even aggressive at times) nature took hold of him. "Rei, I have to know if you feel the same. About me, I mean. The way you look at me sometimes..." He trailed off, letting the thought sink in.

Just like that, Rei was pressed against the cool surface, Rin effectively trapping him with both hands on the glass on either side of the startled boy's head. The shark's predatory eyes were intense.

"Answer me."

"How can I answer," Rei gasped, taken by surprise by Rin's sudden action, "when I don't even know how you feel?"

"I want to kiss you, you beautiful fool." He spoke forcefully, tying to get the words out before his rational mind could prevent him from finishing. "I want to walk out of here, holding your hand, without it being play-pretend." Rin himself was surprised at the words he was saying, but his initial confession on the Ferris wheel had helped him understand his own feelings. Now it all depended on Rei.

The younger boy's face reddened and he met Rin's gaze, his lips parted and dry. Licking his lips, he breathed in.

"You... wow." he swallowed, trying to gather his thoughts. But all that came out was a simple "Kiss me."

Rin did, without thinking, without pausing even for a moment. Despite the adrenaline pumping through the shark's veins and arteries, the kiss turned out surprisingly tender. His lips brushed Rei's, gently pinching the younger boy's upper lip. Unlike Rei probably did, Rin hadn't read any manuals on how to kiss and he didn't want to make a fool of himself, or worse, make this important first-time experience unpleasant for Rei.. or himself. Getting bolder, Rin stepped in even closer, until their bodies were practically touching. Now that he knew Rei wouldn't try to flee, he lowered his arms, settling his right hand on the back of Rei's neck, and running his left hand down the blue haired boy's arm until their fingers interlaced.

"Watch...the teeth..." Rei moaned, eyes closed as he slid his arms around Rin's waist.

Rin's lips were soft, and it was an interesting experience to feel pressed against his. But he didn't know what to do, and he wished he hadn't skipped over the how to kiss guides.

A few long moments later Rin pulled away suddenly, blushing furiously. He didn't want to end the kiss. It felt so good, a little too good, actually. He was shocked when the pleasant sensation echoed in his nether regions. This was not the time nor the place for such things or even thoughts.

' _Hormones_ ', he thought disgustedly.

"Rin?" Rei opened his eyes and swallowed, "Why'd you stop?"

Realizing how absurd he sounded he reached up to fix his glasses, "I-I mean...that was really...that was nice."

"Wasn't it?" Rin grinned at him, quickly getting over his embarrassment, but not quite trusting himself to kiss Rei again just yet. "There's more where that came from, but maybe a bit later. Gou and Nagisa are probably getting worried."

He took Rei's hand, gripping it hard. "We're not pretending anymore, right?"

"I think we can try this for real." Rei nodded, following Rin as he was guided through the maze by the hand. He gave Rin's hand a small squeeze, "But it may take some getting used to.

When the happy couple emerged into the funny-mirrors room, Gou and Nagisa weren't there anymore. The tired-looking attendant at the exit door asked them to hurry up, as the attraction was supposed to be closing in a few minutes.

"We'll be quick," Rei assured him, guiding Rei to a mirror that made their legs appear longer and their eyes huge, ala Sailor Moon. "I don't know how beautiful you'll find this, but this is one of the more flattering mirrors in the entire room."

"We look ridiculous." Rei laughed, "I hope we don't look as silly together outside this mirrored room."

"I'm certain we look dashing." Rin believed it, too. They made a quick pass around the room, giggling at their reflections (more like Rin giggling at Rei's reaction to their reflections), and stepped outside. Gou and Nagisa were sitting on a bench nearby, acting out a thing from Jaws with the toy sharks.

"Oh there you are!" Nagisa exclaimed when he saw them approaching. "What were the two of you doing in there for so long? You know they have cameras everywhere, right?"

"N-no they don't!" Rei flushed, adjusting his glasses nervously, "And even if they do, there is nothing on them. I was simply lost. The most logical path for a maze of that shape and size was not the correct one."

"Uh-hu…" Nagisa smirked and glanced at Gou, "How much you want to bet they lost track of time while making out?" he asked in a hushed mock-whisper.

"Nagisa," Rin loomed over the shorter boy like a dark cloud. "What we do alone is none of your business." Though he spoke quietly, his voice sent cold shivers down Nagisa's back.

"I'm sorry Rin-chan!"

Gou laughed and shook her head. "Well, it's getting late. I bet you two love-birds want some alone time to do stuff that's none of our business. Nagisa, will you walk me home?"

"What? And leave Rei-chan without a chaperone?!"

"I'm not a child, Nagisa!" Rei gasped, cheeks heated. But any further protest was cut off by the blond shoving the toy shark in his face.

Rin intercepted the shark, not letting it hit Rei's face.

"You can hold on to that. Actually, Gou, would you take both of them home? I'll give Rei's his later."

"I wouldn't want us to have to drag them around for the rest of the night," he explained turning to Rei."

Gou nodded, taking a plush shark under each arm. "Don't stay out too late now. Rei's probably got school work and I bet you'd want to fit in a swim practice before we go on our wedding errands."

"I'll... I'm not promising anything," Rin told her, winking, and taking Rei's hand.

Nagisa sighed. "Once in a blue moon you're visiting and Rei-chan gets to keep you all to himself."

"Don't complain," Gou shoved him with her elbow. "Rin finally found love~ It's about time. He deserves it."

She quickly gave an awkward plush-shark-obstructed hugs to Rin and Rei, whispering into the latter's ear "Take good care of my brother, okay?" She then proceeded nudging Nagisa away from them with her shoulder. "Have a good night you two."

"Yeah, good night," Nagisa scowled. He still looked a bit sad at being excluded, but he understood and wasn't bitter.

"Laters," Rin called after them.

"Sorry, Nagisa…" Rei muttered, waving. He then glanced at Rin as the shark waved to their companions, "Take care of him, hu?" he muttered to himself.

Gou just wanted to see her brother happy, that much was clear. And maybe she even had been worried about him, by the way she had mentioned that he 'finally' found love and he deserved it.

The thought made Rei elbow his now boyfriend in the side, "You know if this had been a trick like you originally wanted it to be, it would have been devastating to Gou-san!"

"Good thing that it isn't then, eh?" Rin replied without skipping a beat. He smiled at Rei and he looked cloudlessly happy in that moment.

"You know that song, _'I didn't know I was looking for love until I found you'_?" He blushed, "I'm not saying... uh... well, it's probably too early to talk about _love_ and all." Rin scratched his head, looking at his feet, "... but that's kind of how I feel right now.

"And I really enjoyed kissing you," he added after a pause. "I... that was my first kiss." He blushed even darker.

Normally confident and cool, he felt (and looked) very vulnerable, exposing his feelings like that.

"Mine too…" Rei flushed and looked down, "I…hope it was good enough…I never researched the proper kissing technique… and…"

He trailed off and watched as the crowds disappeared for the night and the lights, rides, and booths shut down around them, "It was the truth, you know…when I said I found you to be beautiful in the water…" Rei walked over and leaned against the railing that wrapped around the now unmoving carrousel, looking at the painted horses. "I really missed it…swimming in the lane next to you, being able to just turn my head and see close up how beautiful your technique is…no one else even compares, now…the beauty's gone from the pool…"

"It was definitely good enough," Rin interjected.

He followed Rei to the rail and, muttering "May I?" put an arm around his waist.

"So... tell me, do I look beautiful outside of the water too? Or do I need to be wet and bare-chested to please you?" He was teasing, not quite sure how else to respond to Rei's confession. He missed swimming with the blue-haired butterfly too, missed the hours they spend in the pool, practicing, but there was no easy remedy for that. Nor was there need to think about it right now, he decided. He wanted to enjoy this moment with his first boyfriend and leave sad thoughts for another time.

Rei smirked, replacing his pensive look with a cocky one "Would I agree to date you twice if I didn't find you beautiful dry and clothed?" he challenged. Then he softened his tone again, "You're like a rose—even down to the thorns." He nodded at Rin's teeth.

Rin felt the blush returning to his cheeks. No one's called him a rose since he was a small child. "So, about those kisses," he spoke in a low voice, "do you wanna go somewhere a little more private?"

Rin desperately wanted to kiss Rei again, but even though the fair was all but shut down for the night, the occasional passersby were still annoyingly frequent.

Rei nodded, being of mind that such things as romantic relationships shouldn't be flaunted in public, even if they were straight. Obviously, he and Rin were not, and they would only attract all the more attention. "Where can we go?"

"We could go to the beach, or even hang out on the school grounds. I doubt anyone will be there at this hour." Rin tucked a stray lock of hair behind Rei's ear, marveling at the fact that he could do such a thing, when some hours earlier nothing like this seemed even remotely possible.

"We'd end up right back in the pool and I don't have my swimsuit or goggles with me." The butterfly mumbled, "The beach would be safer."

"It's a bit too cold for the pool, don't you think? Though the beach does sound more ~romantic~." Rin giggled. "Alright, boyfriend, let's go." He took Rei firmly by the hand and led him toward the beach, ten minutes away by foot.

"That didn't stop us last night…" Rei flushed, still not used to being led around by the hand.

"Last night you were having the blues. There was simply no other way. Today you seem happy enough, if only a little flushed." Rin winked at him. "Say, are you sure you're okay with kissing without researching it first?"

Rei pulled Rin to a stop and made sure to face him, "Who's to say I can't start my research with you as my resource?" he whispered.

"I can't wait." Rin answered honestly. Not one to keep his emotions in check, he grabbed the front of Rei's shirt, forcefully pulling him forward into a kiss. They hadn't made it to the beach yet, but the road was deserted, and he really couldn't help himself.

"Ri-!" Rei gasped, stiffening in fear off being caught, but soon he found himself relaxing against Rin, the shark's lips coaxing him into simply enjoying the moment once more. And it occurred to him, maybe couples showed off their affections in public so much because it was all too easy to get lost in the moment, to forget that anyone may be around to witness such things. Maybe it was okay to lose themselves once in a while…

Before long, Rin released Rei, smiling. "Was that educational?"

"It—quite." Rei hid his blush behind his hand as he made a display of fixing his glasses.

"How about another study session on the beach? Though I'm afraid we won't make it there at this rate. Tell you what, I'll race you there. Three, two, one!" Rin watched Rei as he spoke, trying to make it a fair race this time around.

Still much more comfortable on land than in water, Rei's days on the track team shown through as he pulled ahead of Rin and kept the lead all the way to their sandy destination, only faltering when his feet sank onto the sand and he slipped, falling back onto the imaginary finish line, laughing all the while as he waited for his boyfriend to catch up.

Rin wasn't far behind. He saw Rei go down and leaped after him, landing next to him in the sand and immediately rolling over and onto Rei's chest. The shark laughed breathlessly. "I'm not sure which one is the victor," he said, pointing out his obviously advantageous position.

"I touched the beach first." Rei grinned, wrapping his arms around Rin's middle, "So obviously I won."

"Hmm, but I came out on top." All was fine and dandy, but he found Rei's proximity very distracting. Being held like this felt almost as good as winning a race. "Mm, I'm still having a har- a difficult time believing this is happening. How 'bout you? Did you see this coming?" Rin asked, looking into his boyfriend's eyes. It was so strange to think about him that way. Strange and... warm and pleasant.

Rei bit his lip, unable to stop smiling, "Never. Never thought that I'd become victim to romance. And even less that it'd be with another guy—not that I have ever been interested in girls at all… I wasn't. But I never even considered other guys…"

"Victim? Is that how you feel?" Rin teased.

"Don't you? The way my heart speeds up like I'd just finished a race…the way it seems to swell when you smile at me or lean in for a kiss… My body reacts to the mere thought of you in illogical ways."

Rin wanted to object, because swimming a race didn't usually leave him feeling victimized, but with all that sweet talk about kisses...

"Something like this?" he asked huskily, kissing Rei. With one hand buried in the sand for support, he ran his other hand through the butterfly's blue hair. It was so soft.

Just as he had spoke of, Rei's heart began to beat faster, bringing a flush to his cheeks. Goodness it was annoying how good it felt to be kissed by Rin and to kiss him back. Lips moving fluidly against lips.

After a few minutes, as the kisses got more heated, Rin felt himself getting excited again and he hurriedly rolled off Rei. He lay next to him and, trying to draw attention away from his abrupt capitulation pointed out that "Man, the stars are so bright tonight!"

Feeling as if he was living a huge cliché, Rei kept his eyes on Rin as he agreed, "Yes, beautiful…"

Rin turned his face to look at Rei. "I see what you did there," he laughed. "What am I gonna do with you, you beautiful dork?"

"Kiss me, obviously." Rei said, touching his glasses.

"I take it you got over your fear of being bitten by a shark?" Rin said, but he was already leaning closer to oblige Rei's request, or was it Rei's advice he was following?

"I still don't want to be bitten," Rei said as he shifted onto his side to look at Rin, "but I trust you not to bite."

"Awww, but you are so delicious, I might be tempted to take a little nibble." Rin kissed him again, though he still kept his teeth in check.

"That's terrifying." The butterfly muttered into the kiss. "Why is it we can't seem to stop doing this?" he added.

"You tell me, you're the researcher," Rin smiled, adding between kisses. "And I promise I won't eat you whole, or even leave you critically injured. I do prefer you in one piece."

"This defies logic…" Rei whispered, brushing Rin's hair back out of his face.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Rin teased, and very gently bit Rei's lip. The bite wasn't enough to break skin or even cause pain; it simply added a new sensation.

"You…actually bit me!" Rei gasped, though he truly didn't mind it.

"Well, you know," Rin spoke, pulling Rei closer yet, "as good as it feels, I don't think I can be satisfied with just kisses."

"…But lets not move too fast…okay, Rin?" Rei muttered nervously. "This is still very new to us both."

"Of course!" Though he didn't release his hold on Rei, Rin blushed darkly. "I didn't mean _that_ , I just wanted you a little closer." He paused. This was the first taste of the work healthy relationships required, in this instance - respecting a partner's boundaries. "If that's okay with you," he added.

"Closer is okay when it's just us. I just… well, you know…We got together so fast; I don't want the entirety of it to be like that. It may end before it really has a chance to blossom into something beautiful."

The butterfly laughed, then, "Who knows, maybe we'll show each other a sight we've never seen before."

"You've already shown me a sight I've never seen before," Rin said seriously, then smiled. "Though I'm sure there will be many more for both of us." He planted a peck on Rei's lips and sat up, then, rising to his feet and offering Rei his hand to help him stand, he added: "About that romantic walk on the beach, we didn't make it very far. Shall we get back to it?"

Rei took his hand and helped pull himself up before brushing the sand off Rin's clothes for him, "Lets."

* * *

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

The following day Rin was busy helping his family with his mother's upcoming wedding, so Rei took the opportunity to study, finish homework, and secretly study up on the art of kissing. He also restudied his dating references more in depth now that he and Rin were dating for real. He wanted to make sure he didn't overlook anything.

Then, on Monday, he attended his classes as he normally did, flushed in the face and at a loss of a response each time a classmate or some kid in the halls commented about his relationship with 'another guy' or 'Gou-chan's brother', as no one there had ever truly met Rin other than the three of them. Nagisa, on the other hand seemed to know exactly what to say when he saw his best friend grow too uncomfortable under the attention, telling everyone to mind their own business, or claiming that they were just jealous that Rei and Rin made a cutter couple than them.

After classes for the day ended, Rei found himself poolside, arms crossed as he looked at the members of the swim team, "We are here to train ourselves for our next event, not to gossip about people's personal lives. The first person to ask me about Rin will have to do twenty extra laps before they can dry up to head home. Am I understood?"

With everyone's nod of agreement, he turned to the pool, "Right, let's begin warm-ups."

* * *

 

For Rin, Sunday was something of a drag. He woke up early and went to work of his mandatory laps at his old coach's swim club. Focusing on his form and breathing as he swam, helped him clear his mind, but thoughts of Rei returned the moment he got out of the water.

At home he was given a list of wedding chores - write addresses on the invitation envelopes, assembling memento bags and the like. As his hands worked mechanically, his mind kept wandering toward those kisses under the stars.

On Monday he helped clean out the gutters and put a fresh coat of paint on the fence. He worked diligently and got done right around the time he knew Rei would be getting out of class. He considered showing up at his school uninvited, but thought better of it. He didn't know how Rei felt about others knowing about the two of them. He opted to send him a text in advance.

 

~ _Hi Rei. How are you? I've been thinking of crashing you swim practice today. What do you say?~_

 

He re-read, deleted and re-typed the message a couple of times before sending it, laughing at himself and at how awkward and unsure he felt about such a simple thing.

* * *

 

Rei was in the water, working on further perfecting his own time in one off the center lanes when his phone vibrated on the bench next to his towel, the buzzing noise it created catching Nagisa's attention as the blond toweled himself off after his last set of laps.

Frowning, he glanced down at the phone, seeing Rin's name and picture show up on the screen along with the text.

"Hey, Rei! Rin-chan's texting you~" He sang out, but thee butterfly didn't hear him, concentrating too hard on his swimming.

With a sigh, Nagisa picked up the phone and replied to the text for Rei.

 

~ _You know you can always come swim with us~ 8D~_

 

As he sent it, one of their younger members called out to him. "Ah, I'll be right there!" he said, setting down the phone and forgetting it as he ran to assist his teammate.

* * *

 

Rin looked at the message, which he found suspicious. Tildes and smiley faces didn't seem quite in Rei's style. Then again, the bookie boy may have read in some dating book that embellishing his texts in such a way was the right thing to do. Rin packed up his bag and headed toward his boyfriend's school. As he got closer, he decided to act on his suspicion after all and dialed Rei's number before approaching the pool area.

Just before Rei's phone was about to go to voicemail, its owner answered, his voice muffled as if he was toweling his face dry, "Hello?"

It was obvious Rei hadn't looked to see who was calling before he picked up.

"Hi Rei. I'm almost there. You sound like you aren't expecting me."

"Rin?" Rei felt his cheeks heat up and he quickly turned his back to the pool so the others wouldn't see. "You're coming over? To the pool? Should I be expecting you?"

The butterfly panicked, thinking he'd forgotten they had made plans at some point. So soon in their relationship, and already he was making unforgivable mistakes like forgetting about a date!

He opened his mouth to spill out his apologies for forgetting when Rin's voice answered him.

Rin had stopped it in his tracks. "I texted you earlier and you said it was alright, though the tone was somewhat suspicious. I wonder if Nagisa was involved."

"I was working on my time," Rei blinked, "I didn't get…hold on." He pulled the phone from his ear and went to his message center, quickly finding what Rin was talking about. He put it back up to his ear.

"I'm sorry, that must have been Nagisa. He didn't tell me you contacted my phone. You can still come over if you want to…"

"Are you already done with your practice? I guess I'm too late." Rin sounded somewhat sad.

"No, no! It's not too late. I just let another swimmer use the lane I was in. We have a lot more members this year on the swim team. Maybe you could come and give people pointers. You're a pro now, after all." He blushed.

"You sure about that? In that case..." Rin entered the pool area hanging up the phone and finishing his sentence without it "May I use your locker room?"

Rei jumped and turned around, "You could have told me you were this close!" He took Rin's hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze, "Go ahead."

Rin squeezed Rei's hand in return blushing a little, still shy to do these things in front of people.

"I'll be right out." He jogged to the locker room, where he hastily changed into his swim trunks.

"So, who here needs instruction?" he asked, returning to the outdoor pool.

Rei gestured at all the boys around and in the pool, "Everyone but Nagisa. No one is as bad as I had been when I joined the team, but everyone who joined us this year are beginners who joined after the team's success last year." He explained, turning his attention towards the pool, "They know the basics of their chosen strokes, but they are still refining technique and speed. We have been giving pointers where we can, but I'm afraid Nagisa and I just aren't as good at teaching as you and Makoto are."

"How about Gou, is she still helping you guys out with the training regime?" Rin performed some of his usual warm-up stretches.

"She does help like she always does, but she doesn't swim herself and she sticks to what she's good at. Getting us on the best diets, swimming schedules for our practices… things like that."

"You wanna introduce me to them?" He asked, eye-ing his potential students. "As a swim authority, not as your boyfriend," he added hastily, realizing how his suggestion could be misconstrued.

Rei then looked back at his boyfriend and blushed, "You actually wouldn't need an introduction as my boyfriend…everyone seems to know. It's been all over the school today. I—I'll go gather them up to introduce you as a special trainer."

He turned, walking to the poolside and clapping his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone, this," he gestured at Rin, "—is Matsuoka Rin. He'll be joining us for the rest of our practice today and helping us improve. Please listen to what he tells you, and ask questions if you have them."

"Rin-chan!" Nagisa pulled himself out of the water and ran over, throwing his arms around Rin's shoulders, "I forgot you were coming! Yeah! Everyone, Rin-chan here is a pro! And he's also the one who taught Rei-chan all he knows! Well, except the Butterfly Stroke. Rei learned that one on his own! But yeah! You can all learn lots from Rin!"

Rin put his serious business face on, straightening his shoulders and puffing out his chest ever so slightly. Even though he was just introduced twice, he introduced himself one more time, momentarily establishing eye-contact with each present swim-team member as he spoke.

"Hello everyone, I'm Matsuoka, Rin. I'm currently training for the Japan's Olympic team. Since your captain has kindly allowed me to use your pool for practice while I'm visiting my family, I thought I'd return the favor by giving you a few pro-pointers."

He picked up a notebook and a pen conveniently lying on a bench nearby, probably left there by Gou.

"I want to observe each of you; swim a lap in your preferred style and will provide you with individual feedback."

He walked over to the side of the pool, claiming the first swim lane for his purposes.

"Right. Line up single-file. You'll be using this lane. Call out your name before you dive in."

As he stood there, notepad in hand, the boys lined up. Some looked nervous and intimidated, others - excited for the opportunity. A couple seemed giggly at the thought of Rin and Rei being a couple, but one stern look from the shark wiped the smirks off their faces. As the boys jumped in one after another, Rin took quick notes, noting what each boy did well and which part could use work.

After everyone took their turn, Rin walked over to Rei and shared his notes with him.

"I think you should be present when I give them my evaluation. That Tetsuya guy is pretty good. Has he been competing yet?"

"No." Rei shook his head, "We've had only one meet this season and he had to miss it due to family reasons. It was only a practice meet, so it wasn't too big a deal."

The younger swimmer glanced over Rin's notes, "You should work a bit on your penmanship. This is a mess…" he muttered as he squinted to make out some of the more scratchier writing.

"Now, now, maybe this is my secret code, obscure entirely by design. Wouldn't do for just anyone to be able to see what I have to say about each swimmer in the club. On a more serious note, I think that guy has potential. In any case, let's go sit in the shade over there and call them up one by one."

Rei nodded, "Hey, Nagisa," he called his best friend over to them, "We are going to speak to each member one at a time. Keep everyone on the normal routine while we call people over."

"Can do! Who first?"

"We'll start with Tetsuya." Rei suggested.

"Right-o! Oi! Rei-chan and Rin-chan wants to talk to you first!" the blond announced, approaching the younger boy who was about to jump back into the pool for a few laps.

"Right," Rin said as Tetsuya approached them, water dripping. "What year are you?"

"Second."

"I take it you've been swimming before you joined the club?"

"I did in middle school, but just for fun, really."

"Have you given any thought to what you want to do after graduation?"

The younger boy gave Rin a quizzical look, since the question had little to do with swimming. "Not really," he answered.

"Well I'd say, you're a natural as far as swimming goes. There might be a future in it for you, if you're willing to put some serious work into it."

"Oh," Tetsuya scratched his head. He knew he was faster than most other members of the swim club, but he hadn't considered a possibility of professional swimming. "Um, I'm not sure. I like to swim though, so I'll keep at it for the time being. Weren't you going to give me some advice or something?"

Rin looked a bit disappointed at the boy's evident lack of enthusiasm, but he shook it off - it would be silly to expect every good swimmer to share in his dream. He explained to the young swimmer how to angle his hands during a stroke to achieve maximum traction and added that he'll check out his swimming after he's given feedback to the others and make sure Tetsuya is doing it correctly.

One by one, the boys came up and Rin gave them a run-down of things they could work on and how. At some point, he found Rei's bare foot under the table and squeezed it with his toes in a covert display of affection, and Rei responded positively by glancing sidelong at the redhead with a telling blush and a nudge with his knee.

Once they were done with the one-on-one chats, Rei checked the time and nodded, finding it to be about quitting time. He announced the end of the practice and everyone dried off and changed to go home or whatever they had planned. Soon it was just Nagisa, Rei, and Rin left to lock up and head home.

"Want to come over to my place?" the butterfly asked his boyfriend as he locked the door to the team's locker room, "My dad left on a business trip this morning so it's just my mom and I. Knowing her, she'll still cook for four, so I'm sure she won't mind you joining us. She never minds when Nagisa shows up for dinner."

"I guess it's only fair, since you've already met my family. It will be my pleasure."

"His mom's the scary one!" Nagisa grinned, draping an arm over the shark's shoulders and forcing him to slouch down closer to the shorter boy's level, "Rei-chan's her baby and she's pretty protective over him!"

"Don't scare him!" Rei protested, gripping the straps of his backpack tighter. "My mom isn't that scary!"

"Rei's a mama's boy, too." Nagisa whispered to Rin before speaking at a normal volume again, "Anyway, I suggest you get on her good side before you reveal that you are dating her baby! Maybe she'll still like you then!"

"You think you are helping—but you are not!" Rei insisted. "I'm sure Mom will like you, Rin!"

Rin put on a nervous smile. "Is there anything particular I should know? Should I get her flowers or something?"

"Then she'll know something's suspicious with you!" the blond grinned.

"Again, not helping!" Rei sighed and pushed his glasses up, "You don't have to, Rin. Just be yourself." He reached out and took the older boy's hand."

"Bringing flowers would totally be myself! After all, she's the mother of the most beautiful young man I know." Rin gave Rei a warm smile. "We need to stop by a convenience store."

"Watching you two is like watching some old cheesy, cliché romance movie." Nagisa laughed, and then shrugged, "Rei, call me tonight after Rin leaves. I want to know how things go! Sadly I can't be there myself, my grades will start to slip again if I don't get some studying done soon, and then my parents will demand I quit swimming again! Can't have that."

The blond waved and ran off, leaving the couple alone once more.

Rei smiled and shifted his backpack's weight on his shoulders, "Well, it seems we have some flowers to pick up before dinner, so we better get going as well, Rin." He slipped his hand into the redhead's.

Rin waved Nagisa goodbye and held Rei's hand firmly. "Indeed. Which flowers are her favorite? … Also, does she know about _us_?"

"She's rather fond of Daffodils. But as for us…" Rei shifted uncomfortably, "I haven't told my parents anything yet… All she knows about you is that you were on an opposing swim team. We'll have to introduce you as more than that. I don't think she'll be bothered by our relationship, but we should play it by ear, just in case."

The butterfly walked alongside his boyfriend and glanced at him, "Speaking of… How is your mother and soon to be stepfather taking the news about us?"

Rin shrugged. "They are alright. They are a bit preoccupied with their own wedding. Mom said she was surprised, but she was wondering why I'd never had a girlfriend and talked about Haru-chan so much." He laughed. "I promise, I never had _that_ kind of feelings for him. About your folks, we don't have to tell them just yet. Things have been moving rather fast. It may be better if they get to know me as your friend first. Doesn't mean I can't bring some Daffodils though." Rin squeezed his boyfriend's hand. "This is all uncharted waters, but luckily, both of us are strong swimmers."

"Leave it to you to bring swimming into this!" Rei laughed, "Lets see how dinner goes before we decide on when we should tell my family. Especially since it'll just be my mom tonight."

* * *

 

 

They walked on in a comfortable silence until they reached a small flower shop, and stopped in to choose the flowers Rin wanted to pick up, then they walked straight to Rei's house.

"Ma! I'm home. I brought a friend over for dinner." Rei called out as he removed his shoes and set them in their place alongside his mother's. He paused, frowning down at the line of shoes—there was one extra pair in the line-up. A pair that shouldn't be there.

"Hey dork!" A strong arm suddenly hooked around Rei's shoulders, throwing him off balance as he fell back against his older brother's chest. He gave a cry of protest as his blue hair was ruffled. "I don't think you have grown at all! Still short as ever. Must be all them books you carry around. It's stunting your growth. Gravity is working against you, dweeb!"

"Hey! Let go! What are you even doing home? Shouldn't you be disrupting your dorm-mate's study time or something?!" Rei gasped.

"Meh, Never mind that. I just had some time off and decided to come home for a day or two. Hey, who's this? Never saw this one follow you home before. I was convinced you only had Blondie, Mopey, and that tall guy as friends…" The older Ryugazaki brother turned his attention to Rin, extending his hand with a friendly grin, "Hey, I'm Rei's _cooler_ older brother."

Rin observed the interaction warily, not sure if he should interfere and defend Rei from this newcomer. Ultimately, he decided the teasing wasn't malicious. He gave Rei's older brother one of his trademark sharp smiles and firmly shook his hand. "I'm Rin, nice to meet you. I know it sounds like a girl name, but..." He shrugged with one shoulder. Now that he was tall and broad-shouldered, he no longer had to explain to people that he wasn't a girl, but old habits die hard. Rin shook off his shoes, pushing them in line next to Rei's. "These are for the Mrs. Ryugazaki," he said, indicating the flowers. "Is she in?"

"Rin, this is my brother, Shion." Rei grunted as he finally broke free of his brother, " Shion, this is Rin. We swam butterfly against each other last year."

"A rival then? Don't you know you don't bring rivals home?" Shion mock-scolded.

"He isn't my rival, we are friends. Besides, he's not a student anymore. He's training for the Olympics. And he's Gou's older brother."

"Gou? Do I know this Gou guy?"

"Yes, you met her once. She's the team manager."

"Oh! She's that cute redhead who gets all dreamy-eyes whenever someone takes off his shirt! Yeah, she was cute. Come on, Mom's in the kitchen. You can…give her those flowers or whatever…"

Rin winced at Shion's description of Gou, but it was undeniably accurate. "Didn't know you had a big brother, Rei. Any more siblings?" He followed Shion into the kitchen.

"No, it's only us two." Rei shook his head.

"Rei, why don't you talk about me?!" Shinon swept his younger brother into another headlock.

"I—I talk about you all the time, let go!" Rei gasped.

"Shion, be nice to your brother. He has a guest." The boys' mother said, drying her hand with a towel and turning to smile at Rin.

"Hello, Mrs. Ryugazaki, I'm Rin, Rei's once swimming rival." He grinned handing her the flowers.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Rin. I've heard a bit about you. Rei said you are very beautiful swimming Butterfly." She accepted the flowers with a thank you and glanced at Rei, "Fetch a vase, won't you, dear?"

Rin shook his head, smiling. "That's his favorite adjective, isn't it? On that subject, I can see where he got his good looks from." He looked around the kitchen. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Thank you for the offer, but no, go on and hang out with Rei. I'm sure you boys have a lot of catching up to do." She took the vase from her younger son and added water to it for the flowers before setting it on the table as a centerpiece. "I'm almost finished and will call you boys shortly."

"Come on, my room's this way." Rei smiled, motioning down the hall attached to the kitchen.

Rin nodded at Mrs Ryugazaki and Shion and followed Rei. "Can't wait to see it. Are you an undercover Magical Girl otaku? Are walls covered in butterflies? Or is it floor-to-ceiling book shelves filled with manuals on every possible subject imaginable?" He teased.

Rei flushed, "My room is quite ordinary." He stated as he opened the door. Though Rin had been right, if not exaggerating. There was a large bookshelf full of books against one wall, and his bedding did support a butterfly-ish pattern.

Rin laughed heartily. Glancing back to make sure no one was following them, he pushed Rei into the room and shut the door behind them. "It doesn't look like I was off by far. Somehow that's ... adorable." He touched Rei's hair and pulled him closer. "Come over here, you."

Rei adjusted his glasses as he was pulled in closer, and reading into his boyfriend's actions an comparing them to what he'd read on romantic relationships, he decided to respond accordingly, assuming Rin wanted a kiss and obliging that want by pressing their lips together as soon as they were close enough. His fingers still touching his red frames from adjusting them.

After several seconds of affectionate kisses Rin chuckled. "So your brother likes to give you a hard time? How do you think he'd react to -us-? Not that we have to go and announce it, just curious what you think."

"I'm not sure. He seems open enough, but it might be different when it's so close to home…"

He sighed and guided Rin over to sit on the edge of his bed with him, "I read up on what information was available for 'coming out to your family', and there are so many factors that come into play, it's hard to form a hypothesis on how my own family will react. I don't think they would disown me as some options suggest, but it is still an unpredictable situation.

Rin sat next to him and covered Rei's hand with his own. "I suppose it's easier to risk these things when you're already living on your own. I can just imagine Nagisa going on about 'forbidden romances'."

"He already does." Rei laughed, "Very loudly in fact." The butterfly smiled, leaning over and resting his head on the shark's shoulder, "Though I wouldn't call this forbidden, just…secret. No one has told us that we can't be together."

"True that. I'd like to see someone try." Rin leaned back pulling Rei down with him to half-lie on the covers. "Comfy. This is way nicer than my Tokyo dorm. Or the one here, for that matter. I'm jealous."

Rei smiled, "The perfect mattress firmness to softness is crucial to the comfort of an athlete! Most people don't give it much thought, and dorms would go with whatever is affordable. I did a lot of research when I decided to join the track team like my brother and needed a new mattress, getting the perfect mix of firm-softness for my back and muscles! And—" The blue haired boy trailed off, looking at the amused look on his boyfriend's face. "…Or maybe you were referring to being with me?"

"Don't stop, it's adorable when you get excited and ramble off about your theories and interests." Rin insisted, leaning in closer to his butterfly, "But yes, I was referring to your company. Too bad I can't claim you are my body pillow and take you back to Tokyo with me."

The blue-haired teen's face flushed and he covered his face with his fingers under his glasses, "Ah, how do you do this to me so easily, Rin?"

"Hmm?" Rin cocked an eyebrow as he rolled onto his side and used his arm to prop himself partway up as he watched his boyfriend. "What do I do to you?"

"We had been friends before." Rei muttered, sliding his hands down so that he could look up at Rin, "And as friends we could interact normally. But now things you say can make me lose my composure. My face gets warm and my stomach flutters…sometimes my heart feels like it could fly if my body wasn't holding it in place…it's just so—illogical!"

"No one said that love is logical." Rin shrugged, pulling Rei's glasses off his face and slipping them on. His eyes squinting as he tried to see through the prescription. "But love makes us think with the heart, not the brain. It'll take some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of thinking with your heart—you're a fast learner."

Rin leaned down, pressing his lips to Rei's once the younger teen removed his hands from his face.

"And your eyesight is horrible. How can you stand it?!" Rin added off-topic when he pulled back.

Rei laughed, "I can stand it because it's all I have ever known, visually. But, when you're this close, I can still see you…" he tilted his head back just enough to reconnect their kiss. The sounds of little hums of pleasure and lips smacking filled the air for a good few moments.

"Pranks on us…" Rin sighed, rolling back onto his back.

"Hmm?" Rei asked, gently reclaiming his glasses from the redhead.

"Our prank. We tried to fool our friends, but ended up tricking ourselves into developing real feelings."

"Maybe…or maybe, these feelings for each other were already there, and we just hadn't been aware of them until we allowed them to interact."

"That…sounds weird!" Rin snickered, "But I think I know what you meant."

"How does it sound weird? It makes perfect sense! I've read about such things happening."

"Nerd." The shark smirked, pushing Rei's blue hair back out of his face as he rolled on top of the younger teen and looked down at him, "…Beautiful nerd…"

His fingers caressed the side of Rei's face, "I want you to come visit me sometime after I go back…I'm going to miss you."

"I will on break if my parents allow it." Rei promised, propping himself up and nuzzling Rin's cheek, "Until then we still have our phones, and I'll send you more of those cookies I made you once."

Rin's cheeks darkened to red, "Lets not talk about when we are separated. How about we talk about your pajamas." He said, yanking the purple butterfly print pajama top out from under Rei's pillow.

"Th-they are comfortable!" Rei defended.

"And girly." The shark laughed.

"No one but my family ever sees me in them, so what they look like doesn't matter!"

"Can I see you in them?"

Rei paused, "…Maybe…if we start talking on Skype at night before bed you probably will…"

There was a knock on the door before it opened, "Hey, nerds, food's on the table." Shinon said, poking his head inside.

The boys nodded and stood up, glancing at each other. This suddenly felt like an official start to what they both hoped would turn out to be a long lasting relationship.

* * *

-End-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed it!


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